Published 13:55 IST, July 25th 2024
Unilever beats profit expectations despite disappointing sales
The company posted a 3.9 per cent rise in second-quarter underlying sales, below the 4.2 per cent increase anticipated by analysts.

Unilever surpassed first-half profit expectations on Thursday, driven by resilient pricing, even though sales growth fell short. Shares in the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's condiments rose 6.8 per cent in early trading, topping London's FTSE 100 index.
The company posted a 3.9 per cent rise in second-quarter underlying sales, below the 4.2 per cent increase anticipated by analysts. Unilever maintained its full-year underlying sales growth forecast of 3 per cent to 5 per cent, primarily driven by volume, and provided a stronger-than-expected forecast for an underlying operating margin of at least 18 per cent.
In contrast, Switzerland's Nestle reported lower-than-expected half-year sales growth and reduced its full-year outlook.
"There is much to do, but we remain focused on transforming Unilever into a consistently higher performing business," CEO Hein Schumacher stated.
Following a prolonged global cost of living crisis, some consumer goods makers have eased their price increases to win back shoppers who switched to cheaper, often private label products. Unilever's underlying price growth for the quarter was 1 per cent, less than expected, but underlying volume sales growth exceeded estimates at 2.9 per cent.
The industry has faced soaring costs for several years, with everything from sunflower oil and shipping to packaging, grain, and energy becoming more expensive during and after the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Unilever's underlying operating profit rose 17 per cent to €6.1 billion ($6.61 billion) for the six months to June, surpassing market expectations of €5.44 billion. Its underlying operating margin widened by 250 basis points to 19.6 per cent, although the company expects this to slow in the second half.
(With Reuters inputs)
Updated 13:55 IST, July 25th 2024